Local cuisine and our knowledge of Italian desserts have grown over the past 40 years thanks in part to Avanti, which opened in 1974. The owner is likely to stop by your table to chat about what you ordered or to boast about the interior, all black-and-white offset by blood red walls and zebra-striped fabrics. Longtime Avanti staples include shrimp stuffed with crabmeat, scallops, spinach, and mozzarella, and a traditional Caesar salad with creamy anchovy-based dressing. The Pasta e fagioli is thick with vegetables, white beans and pasta. Linguine carbonara is prepared perfectly, and mushroom risotto is also a winner, cooked in a wine and chicken stock, creamy and delicious.

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My grandmother referred to it in the singular: calamaro. I saw her prepare squid only once, in the late 1970s while visiting my parents and me from her home in Ohio. I watched Grandma while she cleaned the ugly thing, removing the b...

When catering to the taste buds of the masses no genre of food is a bigger culinary crowd-pleaser than Italian -- thinly pounded meats, hand-rolled pasta, rich and zesty sauces paired with red and white Tuscan wines, and oh, did we ...